She turned sharply toward him.
“Do what?”
He stayed silent.
Eleanor looked back at me.
“Conrad told us you admitted the pregnancy wasn’t real.”
My chest tightened.
“I never said that.”
She stared at me.
Then at him.
“He also told me you wanted no further contact with the family.”
I gave a quiet, humorless laugh.
“Apparently we were both given very convenient versions of the truth.”
Conrad rubbed a hand across his forehead.
“I was angry. I handled things badly.”
“Badly?” Eleanor repeated. “There are four children standing in my living room whom I didn’t know existed.”
The room fell silent again.
PART 4: The Apology My Son Asked For
Later that afternoon, Conrad tried speaking with the children.
I remained nearby but let them decide how much interaction they wanted.
He asked Parker about school.
He asked Audrey what she liked to read.
Miles told him about baseball.
Willa explained that she wanted a dog even though I kept reminding her that four children already made our house busy enough.
For a few moments, everything almost looked normal.
That was the strange part.
Normality could appear even after years of absence.
But appearance was not trust.
Eventually, Miles crossed his arms.
“You should say sorry to Mom.”
Conrad looked surprised.
“I already apologized to her.”
Miles shook his head.
